Brain Tau Changes After Hip or Knee Replacement Surgery
Looks at tau in the brain after joint replacement surgery, in older adults.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Tau Pathology in the Brain After Hip or Knee Replacement Surgery
Key facts
- Where
- Uppsala, SwedenSee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 55 and 75 years old?
Source: NCT07871487, who can take part
Where in Sweden
- Uppsala University HospitalUppsala, SwedenTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Uppsala University Hospital
- Trial code
- NCT07871487
- Record updated
- 15 October 2026
- Original description
The goal of this observational study is to study whether major surgery is linked to changes in the brain that are typical of Alzheimer's disease.Read full original descriptionShow less
Surgery and Postoperative Tau Pathology in Humans: A Translational Imaging and Biochemical Study to Explore Surgery-Induced Hallmarks of Alzheimer's Dementia
The goal of this observational study is to study whether major surgery is linked to changes in the brain that are typical of Alzheimer's disease.
The study is a prospective observational study that will be carried out in Uppsala University Hospital. Adults aged 55-75 years who are healthy otherwise American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) 1-2 having a hip or knee replacement under spinal anesthesia, and a comparison group of people of the same age and sex with hip or knee arthrosis who are not having surgery will be included.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
* Does the amount of the protein tau in the brain increase in the two years after surgery? * Are changes in tau linked to inflammation in the blood and spinal fluid, and to changes in memory and thinking?
Participants will:
* Have brain scans with positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans before surgery and 12 and 24 months later * Give small samples of spinal fluid and blood * Complete memory and thinking tests at the same time points
Researchers will compare the surgery group with the non-surgery group to see whether surgery is associated with more tau in the brain and with changes in memory and thinking.
Inclusion: Surgical cohort:; Age 55 to 75 years; ASA physical status class 1 or 2; Scheduled for hip or knee arthroplasty under regional (spinal) anesthesia at Uppsala University Hospital; Written informed consent; Non-surgical control cohort:; Age 55 to 75 years; ASA physical status class 1 or 2; Hip or knee osteoarthritis, recruited from the orthopedic outpatient clinic at Uppsala University Hospital; Not scheduled for surgery; Written informed consent.
Exclusion: History of systemic inflammatory disorder; Advanced cardiopulmonary disease; Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score below 23.